Day Off and Adam Broke His Arm

Sleep late, go for a long drive, rummage around in many antique shops, buy some memories, play ball with Chance in an old cemetery, walk in the rain, stop for supper, admire all the crops coming up and the green everywhere.  I can afford one day to totally goof off!  I have three more days to enjoy..but they will be spent at home..cooking and cleaning and catching up on all my “stuff.”

Far Guy has more to add to his Gene Autry collection.  I suggested he build another display case.   I have several Gene Autry  books that are not being displayed.  I passed up a book today..too expensive for the shape it was in.

Of course I bought some old photographs. 

And a bear.

A bear at least as old as I am.  My parents had this exact bear planter/container.  I dusted it many times in the knick knack shelf at the farm.  I think they may have gotten it as a wedding gift.  Not sure what I will do with him yet..where he will go or what he will hold.  Some things take time to figure out.

Grandson Adam broke his arm yesterday.  His Grandfather said “ Tell him thank you for waiting for his parents to return before he broke something.”  (His parents had been home less than 24 hours.) When I first heard the news..I pictured him flying off his bike or off the four wheeler into the street.  Instead he tripped over a board in his own yard, and put out his hand to catch himself and broke his arm in two places just above his wrist. Owie!  Adam will get a cast next week.  Poor kid..my arm hurts for him:( 

Dreary Short Days

It was –25F on New Years morning at 6AM.  That would be –31C.  YES a MINUS.  We went for a walk in the woods..I swear it was still –25 F in the woods..even though the thermometer showed temperatures above zero I am positive that the woods was still BELOW zero.

We can still walk on our trail because the snow is not real deep yet. I let my walking partners get way ahead of me..I often stop to take photos..Chance runs back to make sure I am coming along..but he likes to be the leader.

Three inches of snow at the snow stick.

We took off on an adventure one day to one of our favorite wintertime antique shops only to find it was closed.  Bummer.  So we drove on..and ended up in Detroit Lakes at the antique shop, we are regular customers there..and since we had all day we went to the thrift store too.

Have you ever read about Bomba?  I spotted this book..it looked 1950ish to me.  Originally it was 49 cents..at the thrift store it was a quarter.  I could not resist.

I read parts of it..it would have transported a young reader to the jungles of Africa for adventures. This one with the picturesque cover was published in 1953 by Clover Publishing.

Far Guy found something interesting for his Gene Autry Collection.

It is from a cutout book much like paper dolls. The original book that it appeared in was three pages with various scenes of Gene and his friends with their horses. So it was a good find at $3 and promptly found a spot in the collection.

8 Hours and 38 minutes of daylight today.  The sun rises at 8:05 AM and sets at 4:43 PM.   Short dreary cold days are here in Minnesota…very typical for January.  That doesn’t make them any easier..but they are not unexpected:)

Little Things

I have been enjoying the little things in life.  Cool water on a hot evening.  A evening ride with the guys.  A Flea Market trip and the guys returning with the mail!

I resisted this purchase until I told Far Guy about it..immediately he saw why I was attracted to this little piece of art.  So he bought it for me!  I am not exactly sure what it is..a watercolor maybe it has a sealed back and I hate to disturb it.  It looks like a Collie to me..or a Sheltland Sheepdog watching over a flock of sheep in the evening light.

It isn’t very big and hardly takes up any space at all.  It came with the cute little stand.

We couldn’t resist this either.

The Gene Autry Collection grows..we aren’t actively looking for his “stuff” anymore. Isn’t that the way it goes..when you stop looking for something you find it all over.

I got a very nice surprise in the mail.  I won a drawing over at Punkin’s Patch.  Thanks Sara!

This is her collection of Christmas Cards.  She knows I love me a Border Collie!

They are wonderful and whimsical!

Here is the rest of the loot! What fun to get a package in the mail! :)

Collections: Gene Autry

I have written about Far Guys Gene Autry collection before.

It all began with a cap gun that he had as a child.  He built this frame as a display to hold all his memorabilia.

We just kept collecting..a record here..a little lunchbox that holds Gene Autry trading cards..some books..and then they came out with the postage stamps.   I located an old horseshoe and framed a few stamps. Then I decided it needed a whole sheet of Cowboy Stamps.  Finally there was no more room and the lunch box never fit..it was too thick for the frame.

Far Guy bought a new book..

I thought it was perfect.

He was going to leave this one behind..because of the price tag..it was a tad more than the 25 cents that it originally cost. How much of a tad..27.75 more than a tad..but she was having a sale..so I snagged it for 14.00.  No, I have not checked what they are going for on eBay or elsewhere. I had the opportunity to purchase this same book years ago for 5 dollars..Far Guy thought it was way over priced then..this time I didn’t pay attention to him..so I am now the proud owner of this book..and he lets me keep it with his stuff. It has Gene Autry’s horse Champion on the cover..it was a much better find than the book with the silly old rope..besides that mine is a First Edition!!

Far Guy built a new case.. it is the same size but deeper, the lunch box fits now. The lunch box was a gift from daughter Jen.

This part of the wall in the living room is Far Guys..

The old Gene Autry Cowboy Boots ad was a gift from Jen as was  “The Day the Angels Cried” 9-11 print. (* Click to enlarge)

Far Guy says “WE are done with this collection, everything fits.” :)

Hero In A White Hat

Far Guy has a collection, it began very innocently when he was just a boy. A gift of two cap pistols and a holster. When everyone else was singing the praises of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans and The Lone Ranger and Tonto..Far Guy was admiring Gene Autry. The cowboy who could sing, shoot and ride a horse all at the same time.


Piece by piece the collection grew. One Saturday we were at an Auction Sale in North Dakota. I was there for a Gene Autry pIn, it would be a good addition to the collection. It was just a simple pin with green, purple and yellow ribbons..the pin itself is yellow with a likeness of the cowboy and his name. It was a fairly long auction sale, it was getting late and we had been there for about six hours when the pin finally came up for sale. I bid on it, and then I bid again.. Far Guy said "How much are you going to spend on the darn thing?" I replied "Whatever it takes." We went home with one more thing to add to the collection! Some of the items were easy to find, the song books came from Antique Shops, the photographs from flea markets. The puzzle I found at a garage sale. The humdinger of a watch, was a limited release one year..so it was a Christmas gift from none other than me, his adoring wife.


Far Guy built the display case. It now has the coveted spot to the right of the fireplace. When I suggested that spot, Far Guy just looked at me and said "Really? I can have the whole wall?" Well it seems to me if you have a nice collection, you should be able to look at it once in awhile. After all you live in this house too!


The cowboy boot ad that hangs below the collection..really needs to be matted..it will look better. I am going to put it on his Honey Do list! The "honey do" list is growing by the day, it has been an irritant to Far Guy lately, I keep adding, he keeps crossing things off..he hates that list:)